Rhetorical Analysis of “Black men and Public Spaces” by Brent Essay Example

and tightly spaced buildings shut out the sky…,” is a phrase that conjures an image of the streets the author is talking about by allowing the reader to experience the kind of urban context of the happenings (Brent).

Brent Staples also employs metaphors to highlight the gist of his experiences as a victim of racism. One such prominent scenario is the excerpt: “melodies from Beethoven and Vivaldi... equivalent of the cowbell that hikers wear when they know they are in bear country.’’ Obviously, the two unrelated cases effectively demonstrate that as a Black young man, he had to be constantly on the guard lest he made a ‘wrong’ move that could attract suspicion. This is a very strong portrayal of the effects of negative stereotypes and racial profiling. Simply because he is a male black youth, he has to be extremely cautious, not because he has done any mistake, but because people associate him with crime and therefore they believe that he almost is certainly a criminal. Notably, this mistaken attribute of fearsomeness when in public was a constantly potentially endangering him.

The use of onomatopoeia by Brent in the excerpt; “…thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk of the driver- black, white, male, or female….” is yet another literally device that the author has used to assist him to deliver his message (Brent). Onomatopoeia refers to the use of a series of words that are imitative to the subject of discussion (Simpson 67). In this case, the author seeks to demonstrate his innocence. Notably, these sounds that he describes could emanate from an activity by a person of any race or gender. The message he seeks to pass is

that, when he makes the sounds or rather walks down the streets just like every other person, it should therefore not attract attention simply because he is a Black, male and youthful. These serves do show to the audience the unfair treatment meted on the author for being black.

Just as importantly, the article makes use of ethos, pathos, and logos to communicate effectively and appeal to the reader. In regard to ethos, to create a sense of credibility as an informed narrator (Croucher265), the author lets it be known that he is a black male hence has had first-hand experience of racism. He also acknowledges that indeed the white women’s fear of him is indeed informed by real vulnerability; “Women are particularly vulnerable to street violence….” (Brent). To alleviate their fear and show his goodwill he carries himself cautiously in order not to arouse fear. The author also demonstrates ability to appeal to the emotions of the audience; pathos. The phrase “...of course, the danger ….is not a hallucination”, makes the audience especially women feel that the author empathizes with their vulnerability in their streets (Brent). This kind of emotional appeal is quite useful in establishing a connection with the audience by demonstrating that the concerns at hand are indeed shared (Croucher 265). Application of logos whereby logic and common knowledge are used to make arguments for certain positions on a particular matter (Croucher 265). This occurs in the text where the author makes expressions that the audience would consider to be factual and realistic. For example, when Brent claims that “Black men trade tales like this all the time..,” it is clear it is

not just him experiencing discrimination but it is something many more people especially the blacks agree to as a common occurrence.